[Playstation 3] Yakuza 3

Release Date: 3/9/2010
Price: $9.99 (used)

Yakuza first made it's appearance on the Playstation 2 in 2005. After great success, the PS2 was greeted by Yakuza 2 in 2008. The first 2 games only managed an average score of 7.5/10 but it was good enough to produce a 3rd and even a 4th title which is about to release in Japan. Read to find out if Yakuza 3 can surpass the expectations that the previous 2 had left for it.....

Story - 8/10

I personally have never played a Yakuza game before but I was happy to see that you have the option to watch a recap on both the previous games. This really helped me to understand the characters and the purpose of this third title.
A couple years have passed since the 2nd game and you now have an orphanage with 9 children. You ditched the suit and tie and you are enjoying the beaches and nice weather...Of course that would be too perfect, wouldn't it?
The government hired a construction company to build a new resort and you have a piece of property that the government needs to proceed with the plans. Of course you orphanage is sitting right on this property. The government is filled with families that will do anything to get their plans to carry out. What was meant to be a nice relaxing retirement has now turned in to an action packed, free roaming game that requires your witt and skills to make sure the government does not take control of your land. You will do whatever it takes to protect these kids, especially since one of them is the daughter of the woman you loved so much....

Graphics - 8/10

While the cutscenes look amazing, the rest of the game just looks okay. Nicely detailed cities and beaches fill the game with lots of pedestrians walking around. You will notice people just popping up on screen as you are running down the street and you will probably notice that the bushes do not exactly look like the belong on a PS3 game. But you will take great satisfaction knowing that the game is in 1080p and definately looks fantastic....most of the time. The characters have a lot of detail with their tattoo's, cuts and scars. The shops all have some serious detail as well. The cars kind of look like crappy micro machines from the early 1990's. Fight sequences look really good with cuts and blood appearing as you fight. Finishing the fight with a stomp to the head shows off a nice slow motion bloody sequence.

Sound - 7/10

The sound is probably my least favorite of this title. With all of the voice-overs being in Japanese, we have to read all of the captions on the bottom of the screen. This becomes a pain in the but when you want to watch the action on the screen but instead you have to read what is going on. The voice work seems very well done. The problem is that I can not understand anything they say.
The music in the game sucks lol. To me it seems the Japanese are just a few years behind in terms of good music. Maybe it is more like a decade. I definately have heard worse music and the score in this one is tolerable.

Gameplay - 9/10

This is where Yakuza 3 really excells. There is just so much to do in this game. Besides the main story there are over 80 substories you can do. Tons of mini games like golf, fishing, poker, darts, poker, blackjack, karaoke, bowling, batting cages, and more. These are not just quick slap em together mini games either. These are all very fun and very well thought out.
During battle you earn "Heat" power. This will allow you to finish off your opponent with a finishing move. There some nice extras in the game that are called "Revelations" and "Chase". Revelations are email messages sent to your phone. You will need to go to the location where a trigger can be seen and you then switch to first person mode and use your phone to record the triggered event. A Chase sequence happens when you are confronted with an option to do so. For example if a women just had her purse stolen and you want to chase after the guy, you will trigger a Chase event that does not stop until you have caught the guy.

Throughout your adventure you will need to gain experience points to level up your skills. This is all done by fighting, helping, eating, gambling,revelations, chases, and so on. You will also need to train to earn certificates to purchase certain weapons. After you earn you certificate you will also be able to mod your weapons. There is someone you meet early on who can do this for you, for a price.

Overall - 8/10

Despite having to read all the horrible dialogue in this game, I am having a fantastic time with it. I spent over an hour playing darts and shooting pool. The ability to free roam and do what you want when you want, really makes this game comfortable to just pick up and play. The ingredients are all properly placed in this title, giving Yakuza 3 "Lethal's Stamp of Approval".

Is it REALLY that hard to read the subtitles? Yakuza doesn't NEED english voice-acting, it's perfect the way it is. The first Yakuza already proved that English dubs in a game like Yakuza just don't work.

I'm hoping to pick this up soon. I thought the demo was pretty bad when I first played it but I played it a few more times and it grew on me. Karaoke with that random girl was fun and I spent a few thousand Yen getting everything out of the UFO catcher

Nice review, i played first 10 mins of the demo and i think this is one of the most awful games in the history of gaming

lol I actually thought that the first time I played the demo as well. The demo made me realize that this game had some potential and that is why I picked it up. This game is definately not for everyone and you will either hate it, or love it.

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